Acoma

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Acoma Building

Designed by architect George E. DeSnell, this three-story concrete and brick building was started in late 1911. A bank vault was added in 1913; a canopy (lost) was remodeled in 1914 by the Butte Ornamental Iron Works; and in 1916 the basement was partitioned and a floor added. The southerly slope means that the basement is at ground level in the alley.

Stone sills in string courses mark the east side windows; the Broadway Street facade includes egg and dart moulding under a stone cornice held up by carved brackets. The two interior staircases both originally had skylights, and the original toilets had oak tanks.

This building was nearly lost in the 1990s, but a campaign by Butte CPR helped save it. It now contains an upscale restaurant and bar, and condominiums are being developed upstairs.

The following section is from the Montana DEQ mine narratives; please edit and improve it.

Smoke House Shaft

The Smoke House is one of Butte's most unusual mines. The shaft, the only remnant of the mine, was sunk in the heart of Butte's business district. The Smoke House lode was first claimed on April 16, 1880. The survey of the claim showed two shafts in addition to the discovery shaft. All work was on an undeveloped block on the south side of Broadway between Main and Wyoming. Nearly 20 years passed while ownership splintered and Butte's uptown built upon the claim (Gray 1991).

Interest in the mine suddenly resumed in March of 1899 when workmen excavating the basement of the Thorton Building on the north side of Broadway on Wyoming Street uncovered the rich Smokehouse vein. Investors scrambled to gain controlling interest in the claim. By July, the Smokehouse Mining Co. had apparent control of the mineral rights under 50 acres of business district around the discovery. This included the Smoke House, the Destroying Angel and the Copper Bottom. A 1,000-foot shaft was planned.

Alex Tarbett bought the Smokehouse interests for a reported $300,000 late in 1899. Because uptown Butte had seen extensive surface development, the only site available for a shaft was a small parcel across Broadway from the Thorton Building. Operations were limited to a small vacant lot behind a shoe repair shop on Wyoming Street. However, the company was well capitalized and work on the two compartment shaft was initiated by a large force of men. The lead was expected to be hit at the 300-foot level. An electric hoist was installed after reaching 50 feet. In March of 1900 a small stringer of copper was cut at the 175-foot level. Two months later a 90-foot cross cut was opened at the 200-foot level, but workers encountered a large volume of water. Work was suspended until June when a 75 gallon/ minute compressed air pump was lowered into the shaft. A month later work was again suspended, when the small electric hoist proved to be too small for the depth and loads. A 50-horsepower motor capable of reaching 600 feet was installed in August and work resumed. In October, the water volume exceeded the capacity of buckets and the pump. A new pump and water columns were ordered and a new cage was installed. A copper lead was struck at the 370-foot level and extended to 415 feet.

In February 1901 it was announced that a pumping station was being cut at the 400-foot level. When completed, work would progress to the 1,000-foot level. In preparation for extensive cross-cutting, a steam plant was erected, but this development was hampered by crowded surface condition. In May of 1901, progress on the shaft mysteriously ceased. Over $150,000 had systematically been spent on developing the property without any return. Instead of glorious claims of the riches, it was reported that they had not hit the expected Smoke House Vein at the 400 or the 500-foot level. Indeed, new engineering studies placed the vein at least 200 feet below current operations. This change was explained in January of 1902 when Judge McClernan was asked to dispose of undivided interests in the mine so work could resume. Apparently, owners of a significant undivided interest in the mine had allowed the shaft to be excavated and rich ore uncovered before stepping forward to claim the profits. The issue was not resolved and the pumps eventually shut down. In the consolidation of the Butte mines, the Smoke House continued to be a problem. The Davis Daly Corp bought out the Smoke House interests which in turn were sold to ACM. ACM continued to pick up fractions but was never able to obtain that owned by the Curtis family. In 1913, the Nebraska Building was completed on the corner of Broadway and Wyoming; a shoe factory in the southern portion of the building extended over the shaft (Butte/Silver Bow County Records; Shovers 1984; Western Mining World ).

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